First things first: THANK YOU, MARVELOUS TROLLS! (If you would like to name a troll, let me know. Tallulah, after her capture, is whipping them into shape. They don’t have names until she picks them out for them. She prefers simple names, generally, because she herself has been saddled with Tallulah all her life.) I am so thrilled that you are giving me exactly what I need to make it all go. Gold stars for you!!!!!

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In other news, I went on a date last night with Brent. We had dinner at Pican. I had been there for lunch with my lovely friend YY, but this was my first dinner experience there. Wowza!

The space is lovely and soothing. Lots of warm colors, clean lines. I sat facing the kitchen, which is fun for me and gave me a view of lots of different menu items. The staff welcomes and cares, but does not hover distractingly.

Of course, the essential is the food and drink. Brent had their sweet tea, which is something I don’t like, but he loved. He said they made it even sweeter than he usually makes it, which is high praise indeed from the king of the sweet tooth. I tried their own pale ale, which was yummy and not sweet, a pleasant counterpoint to food that did have a lot of sweetness.

Brent had their version of the wedge, which looked nice, even though he asked for it without the marinated tomatoes and onions. They use real lettuce, which to me would be a feature, but to him, not so much; he loves his iceberg. My starter was much better and I had to guard it carefully after giving him a taste: pork belly on a hoecake with pickled peaches and marscapone (Word says I have spelled this wrong. It was my best guess.), a little maple syrup drizzled around the edge of the plate.

For the main, Brent chose the ribs. Ribs are one of those things where your personal preferences loom large. Both he and I like the wet kind, the kind you probably shouldn’t eat on a date. Pican’s ribs are not that kind. They were definitely tasty and I would never ever refuse to eat them, but they did not blow me away. The portion was humongous, making the side of coleslaw (didn’t try it, but Brent liked it) kind of redundant. I had the bourbon duck with collards and white cheddar fritter, which knocked my socks off (figuratively, of course. I wore a dress because I was on a date and all…). Lovely slices of medium-rare duck breast on a mound of greens that had been cooked long enough not to be bitter, but not so long that they lost all character. The fritter was lovely, a perfect crunchy thing to go with the rich duck and the soft greens.

On my previous visit, I shared the pecan tart with my friend for dessert. This gave me high expectations. Sadly, the special devil’s food cake disappointed. I’m a moist cake person and while I can’t say there was anything wrong with the cake, it just wasn’t fabulous. Brent and I ate the frosting and whipped cream bits.

Our conclusion was that the food was good enough to be dangerous. We’ll definitely go back, but not too often because it was an invitation to overindulge (I took half my entrée home and only had a few bites of dessert and still I feel full!). On the other hand, if you feel like going out with us, we’d love to go with you!!!